Reading English is difficult for children and for all the English as second language students because of the complication of the language due to the many languages from which it has borrowed. Unlike other European languages, the English language is not always written as it sounds. Like the International Phonetic Alphabet or pronunciation symbols utilized in dictionaries, the invention is designed in a similar method to assist students to identify the proper sounding but without altering the spelling of the word.
Throughout years of research, the inventor found a number of obscurities and confusion with the current teaching and learning English reading curriculum and concluded that there is an inevitable necessity of visual presentation of the English sounding without distorting the spelling or learning the complicated symbols. In the present invention, the Alphabet Image Reading to aid the proper English sounding and spelling with the following attributes:
1) It employs a simple method to lead children to identify the proper sounding of the word.
2) It does not distort the spelling nor create confusion from memorization of different symbols and rules.
3) It is like the International Phonetic Alphabet and dictionary pronunciation symbols, a complete sounding aid system and flexible to expand when new words and soundings are added.
4) It is compatible to the existing Phonics, whole Language and other English teaching reading curriculums.
5) It can conduct pronunciation tests to any number of students at one time.
6) The method is applicable in teaching sounding of other foreign languages.
This invention relates to an education method for aiding to teach and learn proper English reading, sounding and spelling wherein colors of alphabet represent each family color and root sound of vowels or consonants and symbols above or underneath depict an altering relative sound branching from those root family sounds. The schwa sound which is a soft vowel, is distinguished by using less intensive color to illustrate a softer sound. Similarly the silent and redundant letters are subdued in lighter gray tone.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an education method for aiding to teach and learn proper English reading, sounding and spelling wherein students can visualize, at a glance, which letters are to be sounded with what sound and which are to be silent.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an education method for aiding to teach and learn proper English reading, sounding and spelling wherein it helps to learn the proper spelling of words through total alphabet combination of sounding and silent letters. It does not deploy many complicated symbols or placing alphabets nearby to confuse students. Thus the proper sounding and spelling is imprinted clearly in the students"" mind without the process of difficult memorization of symbols, rules or intensive phonic drills.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a method of Alphabet image reading which is applicable on any visual media that can be displayed, projected or printed onto. It can be added on to the existing phonics and reading texts by adding the colored symbol markers base on this method. Digital text can be altered into this method through the application of Alphabet Image Reading, hereafter referred to as AIR, software program.